HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL FOMTD MEMBERS!
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Happy Holidays -- whatever End Of Year holidays you celebrate wherever you are!
Forum Activity for @ken-hulme
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HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL FOMTD MEMBERS!
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Merry Christmas, Happy Solstice, Festivus, and Happy New Year to all! (and i hope you had a happy Hanukkah, though it's now over) 
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL FOMTD MEMBERS!
OFF TOPIC discussions
Merry Xmas and Happy New Year to all!
https://youtu.be/miOxoTF4dKQ?si=Ed0MMkNJs_3BSk1
@foggers I think of this time of year.
Kora
Adventures with 'other' instruments...
georgia k:
I have a CD of Sona Jobarte playing the Kora. It's really beautiful, but looks incredibly difficult!
Georgia, she is an incredible kora player, thank you for sharing. The kora is an instrument that lends itself to rhythm techniques, so the very high level players do things that most folks would find really daunting, but when using beginner tunings and techniques, it is very easy to get started and make beautiful music.
When I went to the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, AZ they had a small room full of gongs, chimes, large drums and all sorts of easy to "play" instruments like ukuleles and xylophones, which were open to the public to mess around with. I was super excited to see simple koras in there and get to play one. They really are a lot of fun, and very easy to start but quite difficult to master, I'd imagine.
Nate
updated by @nate: 12/23/23 05:26:28PM
Kora
Adventures with 'other' instruments...
I have a CD of Sona Jobarte playing the Kora. It's really beautiful, but looks incredibly difficult!
Gary Gallier's Dulcimers
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Hope this the right place to post a general question.
Anyhow I emailed Gary at his web page to see if he is still making Dulcimers but I'm not getting any response. Is he still alive? And if so is he still making instruments? Have a good holiday all ;o)
What Are You Working On?
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Good hearing from you Robin, we have missed your post. I hope you and all have a Happy, Healthy Holiday Season.
What Are You Working On?
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Great to hear what you've been up to @Robin-clark . 👍🏼
@richard-streib , that is a whole lot of cookies!! 🍪
I've been learning to do a little watercolor painting lately, it's a challenge!
I've also been enjoying brushing up on my cursive handwriting while tinkering with fountain pens and bottled ink, and writing in my journal.
Another decades-long hobby of mine is knitting. I really enjoy the social camaraderie in attending various regular gatherings of knitters in my area.
What Are You Working On?
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Hello all,
Yes, I have been absent from the dulcimer fold for a few years! The band I played with folded a few years back due to a bereavement and then the pandemic came along. I picked up guitar again and have been working towards playing/singing as a solo act locally - plus I joined a Welsh MVC. So that has taken up all my time. The local Welsh music nights in the pub are the same night as the choir practices - so that has also put me out of the dulcimer loop.
But....I do intend to put some time into a Welsh tunes project next year on the Bocs Cân Idris and perhaps make a CD with my good friend and guitarist Johnathan (who lives 3 doors up!). All noter drone from me of course!!!!
Have a wonderful festive season everyone. I'm off to band practice now as I have a one-off gig tomorrow night with a new band doing a bluegrass/Americana set. No dulcimer for me this time but guitar, dobro and banjo, 
What Are You Working On?
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Robin, great to see your post! I still rely on your YT videos for 'better' noter playing! Merry Christmas!
What Are You Working On?
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Robin! So good to see you here again!! Have missed your posts.
What Are You Working On?
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
I've been working on my Christmas cookies. So far 30+ dozen and I think I am finished. All for giving away to church members, neighbors, and some local businesses where I trade. Decorating is done and most of the wrapping. I'll make the coconut cake for Christmas and help cook dinner on Christmas for the family.
Merry Christmas every one.
Introduce Yourself!
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
I just realized that I haven't been on here a lot lately, although a few people on here do know me personally. I joined this site back in December of 2011 right after I got my first dulcimer for Christmas and I was surfing around for resources. I'd been playing off and on over the subsequent years and finally got serious about it in 2020 when I joined the Berkeley Dulcimer Orchestra which was forced to go online after only two rehearsals. I would say that's when my journey really began. Since then, I have acquired more dulcimers as a result of joining the Albany Dulcimer Quartet (soon to be a quintet) and wanting to be a "utility" player. As a result, I have a standard, baritone, bass, ginger, and banjammer. I truck most of these with me when I go to rehearsals and have a fun time playing with others. I have just recently discovered 1-3-5 tuning and am having a lot of fun exploring that doing solos, which I recently shared in church. I'm still a low to medium intermediate but am enjoying my journey.
What Are You Working On?
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Hi Robin https://fotmd.com/robin-clark
Thanks for getting in touch. I have noticed you on this forum, but wasn’t sure whether you were still active on it. I’ve been listening to your sound files of Welsh tunes, but the links to some of them in your posts don’t seem to work. Anyway, your dulcimer sounds great and I agree that the dulcimer can make a useful contribution to Welsh dance music. When I play with a group of very loud instruments, I just play chords as a rhythm instrument - much better than a guitar in my opinion. When I’m on my own, I just enjoy finding my own way of playing folk songs and hymn tunes. I’ve only been playing dulcimer for a year, but already I enjoy it more than I ever did playing a guitar! I’m really surprised that it hasn’t been taken up by more Welsh traditional musicians.
What Are You Working On?
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Robin, I have gotten value from your posts and am glad to see you back. Merry Christmas to you, as well.
Nate
What Are You Working On?
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Hi Beth,
I live up near Tywyn, Gwynedd. The dulcimer is an unusual instrument for Wales! But they are great for playing the old Welsh dance tunes. I have built a double fretboard dulcimer specifically for playing them - I have called it a "Bocs Cân Idris". I hadn't played it for a while until last Saturday when we had a village Christmas gathering. I played a lot of Christmas carols as well as the local Welsh tunes (Cader Idris, Bwlch Llanberis, Corbet of Ynysmaengwyn's Delight, Machynlleth, Bells of Aberdyfi, The Clover of Merioneth and a few more besides).
Merry Christmas to all,
Robin
What Are You Working On?
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
I have been working on a dulcimer made from goodwill materials only. Metal cans and trays plus wooden cigar boxes for the body, toothpicks frets, and eye bolt tuners. The fingerboard is just a 1/4" thick and 1.5" across strip of poplar. I am out of town but plan on finishing it as soon as I return. The whole thing will end up costing about 5$ and wont require any actual instrument parts. I've been having a lot of fun lately learning ways to make very accessible dulcimers that can be built without many tools and hardware, and with very little knowledge or skill.
Introduce Yourself!
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Just an update as I haven't posted here in awhile. My banjo and guitar have been languishing since I picked up dulcimer. I ordered a new one from McSpadden and got a cherry with spruce top. It sounds wonderful! I thought I would go for walnut, which to me has a wonderful, almost flute like tone to it, but every time I heard the cherry/spruce combo on youtube it reached out to me. My self-taught learning is coming along and I am enjoying both fingerstyle and drone type playing. I really like the Aeolian and bagpipe tunings. So, its a learning curve, but fingerstyle for softer songs like Scarborough Fair and the strum/drone/bagpipe sound for more celtic and scottish tunes. Something about that drone tuning I really love.
Great job on the Cigar box! Also, Buckeye67, that's a beautiful walnut dulcimer you have. I'm a Buckeye too. Go Bucks!
What Are You Working On?
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
I've been using Perfection geared violin pegs on some of my dulcimers, and people really like the ease of use. Plus they look just like black ebony violin pegs, which doesn't detract from the appearance of the dulcimers. I just ordered a set of Wittner pegs to try out. I've heard good things about them!
What Are You Working On?
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Thanks Ken, I had not considered geared violin tuners - may need to look into them.
Warped dulcimer body
Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions
Thanks, Ken. You are right, the smallest of details can really have huge effects. There was a bow in the body that measured approximately 5/16" off level on each end of the dulcimer. All of that from a 2mm extra rise in one side panel. After I thought about it, it made perfect sense. So, now the fun begins.
What Are You Working On?
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Marg there are a couple of things to consider. First is whether you want friction tuners or geared tuners. Since you mention the Stewmac choices the Grovers are friction and the Five Star are geared. The second is cost. You can see the difference in price. Both of those install easily although you may need to make an adjustment in the size of the holes. Since you mention not changing the head design, have you considered replacing the wood pegs with geared violin tuners like Wittners? Here is a link to them: Wittner-finetune-violin-peg They may give a better look to the dulcimer and are priced between the two offered by Stewmac.
This is general information as I don't know the maker of your dulcimer and I am guessing it has a scroll peg head. If you have any questions, ask here or message me.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
updated by @ken-longfield: 12/19/23 10:22:39AM
What Are You Working On?
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Good morning & Merry Christmas
I have a dulcimer with wooden pegs. My hands are not as good with turning them as they used to be and i'm looking to replace with friction pegs or planetary tuning pegs. I see the ones on stewmac for dulcimer/uke but I was wondering if I would do better contacting Warren May or McSpadden or someone instead. I don't want to put screws on the side with other type gears, I have always felt dulcimers were a beautiful art piece and not looking to change the head design.
What your thoughts
marg
What Are You Working On?
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
@strumelia Yes, the dulcimer is a bit of a curiosity to most people here in Wales! It has attracted a lot of interest.
@ken-hulme Some of our group are part of another group that take the Mari round the pubs in our locality every year (see photo taken last Sunday). So we're old friends with the Llantrisant Mari!
What Are You Working On?
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Well I'm in to the organizing mode. I'm busy scanning all my notebooks of tab in to an iPad. I have 117 pages entered so far which is almost one notebook. I think I have six more notebooks to go, but there is some duplication of tabs. Getting rid of the notebooks will free up some space on my shelves.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
The Positive Thread...
OFF TOPIC discussions
Hi Ken, Your Christmas activities sound lovely. I forgot about the film A Child's Christmas! Adding it to my list of movies to watch. I know you're a gourmet cook so your goodies will be delicious. I just saw a recipe for Wassail that I want to try. Our Christmas will be quiet, too. Just the way I like it. Merry Christmas. Nina (from the Berea meet-up)
What Are You Working On?
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
@beth-t , I knew as soon as you mentioned that the schoolchildren could identify a melodeon and a concertina, that you could not be located in America... and I was right, you're in Wales! How wonderful that you are playing in that new group you found, and going around to schools to play traditional music for the students.
@jan-potts , 20 minute play sessions four times a day?- that's what you are starting with? In my book that's a whole LOT of playing! Kudos to you.. 🙌🏻
The Positive Thread...
OFF TOPIC discussions
Quiet home Christmas mostly. Sally's daughter is coming down from Baltimore so 4 of us for the traditional English Christmas Dinner.
Later this week we're going with some friends on a 1/8 scale mini-train Night ride around our favorite walking park -- Lakes Park -- where we volunteer with the bird patrol and trash pickup. The train museum goes all out decorating with lights and such long the several miles of track through the park.
We're also hosting our annual friend party to watch the classic Denholm Elliot version of Dylan Thomas' A Child's Christmas In Wales. I'm making mince tarts and apple biscotti for both events, with Apple Cider and non-alcoholic Wassail Punch.
What Are You Working On?
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Sounds like a great time! Now that you have Mari Lwyd, you can add the others by dressing up as Punch & Judy, Merryman and Sargeant.
You'll enjoy your new 'friend", I'm sure.
updated by @ken-hulme: 12/19/23 08:27:45AM
What Are You Working On?
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
I recently joined a group of mainly retired people who meet to play traditional tunes. These last few weeks we’ve been going around local schools playing traditional carol tunes. It was interesting that the kids recognised all the other instruments (accordion, concertina, melodeon, mandolin, fiddle, flute, recorder, spoons etc) but not the dulcimer. Not even teachers knew what it was.
The excitement for the kids was that we also took along a Mari Lwyd - a Welsh Christmas/New Year tradition. But the excitement for me this last week was hearing from Folkcraft that my H series dulcimer has finally been shipped! Yes, my dulcimer acquisition disorder is serious. Despite only having bought my first dulcimer just over a year ago, I will now have three. :-) It may be some weeks before US and Royal Mail get my new toy to me, but I look forward to playing with it and finding out what a 1.5 fret is all about!
Ron Ewing 6 string dulcimette songs
Dulcimer Resources:TABS/Books/websites/DVDs
Dusty Turtle:
It's true that 6 String Dulcimer group hasn't been too active recently, but remember that you have to actually join a group to see the responses to all the discussions.
I'm sure there are as many responses to this question as there are personal musical styles, but I'm happy to chime in, not with specific song suggestions, but with types of songs and techniques that might be useful.
There are two different attributes to your dulcimer that might suggest special consideration. First, it is an octave instrument. You can play the same tab as everyone else but will be one octave higher. Sometimes, you don't have to do anything special and will blend really well. I sometimes take my dulcimette to my monthly dulcimer club and pull it out when we play Southwind, for example. My dulcimer really stands out from and complements the rest because of the higher register. But that higher register--and the shorter VSL that allows it--also means that the instrument has less sustain. The strings just stop ringing (or get really soft) much faster than those of a standard dulcimer. So one trick is just to play tunes that have lots of notes. I actually find it easier to play fast fiddle tunes on my smaller dulcimers. But if you choose tunes with half notes and whole notes, you will want to play a lot of arpeggios, basically playing chords one string at a time to fill in the spaces in the melody. To see what I mean about using arpeggios to fill in the spaces, check out the version of Raisins and Almonds I posted a while back.
But your dulcimer is also a six-string dulcimer. I have a six-string baritone dulcimette, and tend to play songs with a lot of strumming. Fingerpicking doesn't work as well, but fast strumming is really fun with all those double strings. Think of the rhythmic role of a mandolin in a bluegrass band. Remember, however, that you can also take off the extra strings and have a 3-string instrument. My baritone dulcimette is currently strung only with three strings and is nice for softer, quieter tunes. In a sense, you have two instruments in one.
Good luck. I'm sure you'll find a bunch of tunes and develop your own style of playing them, something unique to you and your dulcimer.
The option to switch between strumming and fingerpicking, and even transforming it into a three-string instrument for a softer tone, adds a whole new dimension to your playing.
The Positive Thread...
OFF TOPIC discussions
I'll be donating food and warm winter clothes to the homeless.
What Are You Working On?
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Jan Potts:
I hope it recovers quickly, Jan
Well...this is new: After 2 months of physical therapy, my hand therapist just assigned me a practice schedule to strengthen my left hand after I wore it out this fall (in addition to the ongoing exercises and stretches). I'm to start with 20 minute sessions, 4 times a day and keep lengthening the time as I go through the next month or so. So I guess I'll be playing a lot of Christmas carols!
Dave Lynch Harpmaker passing
OFF TOPIC discussions
I just saw this post and was so sorry to hear that Dave had died, although I'm glad he's no longer in pain. I had a lot of respect for him, both as a luthier and being the all-around nice guy that he was. I own several of his instruments and was fortunate to be able to visit his workshop in Indiana. His instruments will be lovingly passed on for generations to come.
What Are You Working On?
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
So nice to see this, from you Dusty. I've been wondering how you are, as the last time we had any contact was on Aaron's last Patreon workshop. I've kept up the alternating bass we were working on then, but am now working on ways to improvise, as well as make up something new that's interesting, so am trying to learn more chord theory progression stuff.
What Are You Working On?
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Well...this is new: After 2 months of physical therapy, my hand therapist just assigned me a practice schedule to strengthen my left hand after I wore it out this fall (in addition to the ongoing exercises and stretches). I'm to start with 20 minute sessions, 4 times a day and keep lengthening the time as I go through the next month or so. So I guess I'll be playing a lot of Christmas carols!
What Are You Working On?
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Hey folks. I just want to resurrect this fun Discussion that has been dormant for a couple of years. Please share what you're working on: a new song? a new build? a new technique?
Warped dulcimer body
Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions
I look forward to the photos. It sounds like an interesting project. It is amazing how a one little irregularity in a side can throw the whole instrument out of whack. It takes creative thinking to correct some of them.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Warped dulcimer body
Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions
Problem solved (by accident)!
This morning, I folded a piece of cloth and placed it under the center of the dulcimer, and using soft wood blocks, clamped the dulcimer on each end to my work bench. I was hoping that by putting it under some pressure, it would slowly begin to flatten out. I know, I know, this is not a common or excepted woodworking process for a musical instrument and a seasoned woodworker. I know better. I just get a wild hair every once in a while. While exiting my shop, I heard a large pop, went back and saw that one side of the dulcimer had blown out. Had it under a lot more pressure than thought. Anyway, l unclamped it, and was surprised to see that the bend in the dulcimer was almost completely gone. Also noticed that the blown out side seemed to be a little taller than the opposite side. Measured and saw the blown out side piece was 2mm taller toward the middle. That would explain the eventual warping of the body and fret board and also the slight twisting.
I now plan to carefully trim the excess material from the high side piece and reglue it, then continue the restoration.
I received this as a kit when I was a teenager about 50 some years ago, and had no real woodworking or finishing skills. It looks pretty rough. Now that I'm retired, I though it would be nice to restore it and get it singing again. Going to fabricate a new maple fret board. Ordered new fret wire and strings. Looking forward to bringing it back to life.
When completed, I'll post some pics.